Experiences of pain and injury in portuguese women's sport

In contemporary sport an increasing value is being given to victory leading to a decrease in the importance given to simple participation. Having the goal of victory at all costs, many athletes are willing to train and compete with pain and injury. Most of the studies addressing the issue of pain and injury have focused on the experiences and feelings of pain and injury of male athletes; and on the pressures that act over these athletes, leading them to submit their bodies to pain and injury. However, experiences of pain and injury are no stranger to women athletes. This work has as its main goal understanding the reasons why female athletes, from different sports, accept and tolerate pain, and practice and compete while injured. It is also our purpose to inquire about the strategies used to manage pain and / or injury. Data was collected through seven semi-structured interviews with athletes from the following sports: swimming, volleyball, handball, judo, gymnastics, soccer and athletics. The women involved in this study, aged between 18 and 26 years old, were chosen because, at the time of this research, they were still in activity. The interviews were thematically analysed. Our data showed that during the period in which athletes were injured they felt frustrated, scared and with no self-esteem. Hiding, omitting and forgetting the pain and injury were the strategies mentioned by the athletes to manage pain and injury. In this study, as in previous studies, we identified and analyzed a culture of risk in elite sport that tends to normalize pain and injury.